Well the monolithic v1.3 update came out today and I am happy to say, I'm finally getting [quite] sick of the game. The update is really what the game should have launched as really. A quick summary:
- An interface that (usually) saves settings as you go. No more having all your options and such reset because you didnt click a "Apply" button. Welcome to proper UI design and how everything else works (sure, there are interfaces that dont save changes .. but those interfaces have Ok, Cancel, Apply not Apply and Reset).
- More variety for jetpacks and boosts and such. Now you can fly and shoot at the same time... but not really because remember, energy powers your jetpack and your gun.
- No more having to wait for people to accept. You can finally solo. But not really. This game isnt like Hellgate (no, it's not that good) -- they force grouping on you. Sure it's an MMO you say... but so long as it has soft aim, it's clearly not a gamers game. Sure you can solo, but it's not going to be fun. This arises from a few (good and bad) things
- They've added a new special baddy, the rough equivalent of a Robotics specialist. He fires an amped up Rumbleblaster and spawns drones and power stations. This is awesome. Now baddies will properly reinforce each other. Horrah for legitimate difficulty.
- The fancy rumble blaster he has (just like the various other opponent-wielded rumbleblasters) has magical detonation properties. Sure, it's a splash-damage weapon, I totally get that. But splash weapons ... by their very nature, need to explode to do splash damage (duh) ... and to explode, they have to hit something. Not here. You think that rumbleblaster shot that's clearly zinging past your head is gonna zing past your head? Think again. It magically explodes as it comes near you. This isnt a fancy proximity rocket launcher folks. It's a friggen ball of electrical energy (that bounces no less).
- They still haven't got the Recon class's stealth down right. I wish the developers would just decide on how the mechanics for cloaking work. Common sense indicates that when you activate cloak, you should be bloody invisible unless [a] you are within range of a detector [b] you are within range of a special baddie or boss [c] or you get hit. In Global Agenda there is a fourth scenario: random.
I cant stand games with artificial difficulty - regardless of wheather the ultimate [artificial] product is actually hard (like Global Agenda) or easy (like Left4Dead). If you dont want to artificial difficulty, then it's a giant plot/common-sense hole. Consider this: my assault rifle does ~100 dmg/hit. The assault rifle that the basic bad guy has, does 800dmg/hit with the same range and fire rate. So either [a] this is artificial difficulty or [b] a plot hole that skips over the fact that any common sense soldier would, after killing his first baddie, immediately pick up the rifle and use that instead....
Global Agenda is a different genre of game. It's got some aspect of FPS/TPS and some elements of RPG (and some strategic elements but those are relatively minor/indirect). It's clearly not a real RPG as there simply isnt any loot, and once you settle into your basic gear families, there's not a whole lot of need to expand into the more specialized loot (perhaps in PVP, but i'll get to that). It certaintly isnt an FPS/TPS -- there's no body zone damage -- a shot in the toe does the same as a shot to the head.
Now you can argue that this game is primarily PvP and PvE was tacked on as an afterthought (which, based on the feel of things, is probably true), then I would suggest that it fails as a PvP game as well. No body zone damage in a PvP game? Seriously? How is that supposed to be competitive when neither party even has to hit the target (it's actually got soft aim).
For all this criticism, you'd think I hate the Global Agenda. To be honest, I'm not sure at how I stand: the 1.3 patch definitively makes the game what it should have been at launch. No doubt about that -- as a patch, this is phenomenal (and from a developer's perspective, it's an assload of stuff they've done in a relatively short time period). I'm just not sold on the underlying game itself.
Forced teaming, lack of hard aim (or even something resembling zone damage) and artificial difficulty -- makes me feel this is a casual gamer's game (but it certainly isnt). I cant quite put my finger on it, but it's a hell of a turn off. Do I regret buying the game? Nah. Would I buy it again knowing what I know? Probably. But it certainly doesnt have the attractive power that it could have had. All I know is I'm crossing my fingers for Hellgate Resurrection...
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